Halloween

Halloween is coming, don your masks and grab your bags and get ready for some old-fashioned trick-or-treating! Did you know the history of Halloween in the United States is also wrapped up in its long tradition of great beer. In 1620 the Pilgrims had been at sea for nearly two months and were off-course by the time they sighted land. While they had set a course for the Virginia colony they ended up in New England, and they had a problem—they were running out of beer. This was no small matter—water aboard ship was likely to become brackish and potentially deadly, while beer remained drinkable. When the first pilgrims settled in the vast sweeps of New England, there were pumpkins everywhere. Green pumpkins, blue pumpkins, yellow and pink, and mottled ones littered the ground along with the traditional orange. Their…

October is here, again! Already! It’s a wonderful time of year.  Time to break out your best pumpkin carving skills and Halloween or Day of the Dead decorations, because the autumn winds are blowing away the last bits of El Nino humidity and making it the beautiful season it always is in San Diego! It’s possible to find some scary good wines out there to augment your grown-up costume party, and it doesn’t have to be a terrifying experience.  So if you’re looking around for something new, try one of these ideas on for size. If you’re rushing to the supermarket, don’t just grab the same tired old chardonnay you’ve been getting for the past couple of years. In fact, don’t get chardonnay at all. Everybody loves chardonnay, so try something different. Plus, it’s fall. Go for a big bold California red!…

It’s the spookiest time of the year! Halloween is on its way.  Kids are donning costumes, scary movies are all over Netflix, and ghosts are wailing in the trees (or is it just the Santa Ana?). But we haven’t forgotten about that other celebration of All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day: Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.  That’s the Mexican celebration of the dead, where you can go to the graveyards and talk to your loved ones who have passed on. We are so close to Mexico here in southern California that we would be remiss if we didn’t mention Baja California’s vibrant beer and wine scene.  But you shouldn’t have to cross any international borders to sample them, if you don’t want to! First up, let’s talk about the craft beer scene, which in no…

Halloween is coming, so don your masks and grab your bags and get ready for some old-fashioned trick-or-treating!  If you want a real treat, though, join us on one of our many craft beer or winery events, such as one of our guided walking tours through San Diego. There are many good reasons to learn about craft beer and local wine, not just because San Diego offers such an exciting array of both, but also because the more we learn about beer and wine, the more we appreciate them!   This month is particularly interesting, especially in light of the great pumpkin beer debates, because the history of Halloween in the United States is also wrapped up in its long tradition of pumpkin beer. You see, when the first pilgrims settled in the vast sweeps of what was now called…

October in San Diego is a magical time. While we don't really have classic autumn weather, the marine layer creeps in and the scorching heat abates just enough for the weather to be as perfect as it ever gets in our lovely city: not too hot, not too cold. This makes late October the perfect time to dress up and go party. Luckily for all of us, all the best Halloween parties are in late October. But perhaps you were busy or just moved here. If you don't you'll do this Halloween and you're looking for a good scare, we can help. In fact, we'd love to have you come along on our Spook-tacular Halloween Wine Tour or Trick or Treat Winery Train Tour or Halloween Beer Train. We'll have a spooky (and very tasty) good time. Costumes aren't just tolerated, they're encouraged….

Happy Halloween! I’m sure our 9 guests had no idea what they were getting themselves into when a “Witch” met them at the train station shouting “La Jolla Wine Tours!” Instead of running away in fright, our guests were brave and approached their very strange looking tour guide. Fortunately they did, because what a fun…